A city centre gas main was damaged when a fringe beer garden was being taken down this month.
Contractors dismantling the Spiegelgarden in Victoria Gardens damaged the large pipe beneath the ground last week.
Gas engineers are on the site today making repairs to the pipe, and workers will be on the site for the rest of the week to make the ground good. Southern Gas Networks (SGN) says no gas supplies have been affected.
Brighton and Hove City Council said the event organiser will pick up the bill – although Laine Pub Company, which ran the Spiegelgarden, says it is not aware of the damage.
Councillor Alan Robins, cabinet member for recreation, said: “This was caused by a contractor working on an event.
“When event organisers are using our open spaces, we encourage them to fully scan the area where any temporary structures will be placed and complete a land search for utilities services to avoid this type of unfortunate accident.
“We understand repair work will be completed by the utilities company by Wednesday. The cost will be met by the organiser of the event, not the council.”
Waseem Hanif, SGN spokesperson, said: “We’re carrying out emergency repairs to our gas network in Grand Parade, following damage by a third party last week.
“Our engineers made safe immediately and we’re now in the process of replacing a section of the damaged main. No gas supplies were affected.
“Work to replace the section of gas main is being undertaken by specialist contractors due to its size and, all going well, will be completed today.
“It will then take up to five working days for our teams to complete reinstatement works. We’d like to thank the Brighton community for your ongoing patience and support.”
Russ Danks, managing director of Laine Pub Co, said: “We were not previously aware of this, as we have not received notification from Brighton and Hove City Council.
“Our commitment is to deliver well-managed, safe, city-enhancing, and professional events, and we will, of course, give full attention to any concerns raised by the council’s events team.”
Earlier this year, the council said it was now inspecting its open spaces before and after leasing them to events organisers, with contractors on hand to make any required repairs as soon as the event is over.
That’s what you get for putting a beer seller in charge rather than a professional outdoor event organiser!
Why would Russ Danks, Laine pub Co need to be advised by the Council? Surely as the license holder for the event it was their legal responsibility to :
a) undertake a health and safety assessment and identify the large gas main and electric and water points/pipes ‘before’ drilling marquee spikes into the ground
b) supervise the build – which according to SGN was the point of damage during set-up with spikes rupturing the gas pipe in multiple places …
c) Supervise the dismantle and make good any damages
The damaged pipe was under the Wundabarn for the entire month of performances to an audience of a couple of hundred people ………. they should be thanking their lucky stars that a stray spark or discarded cigarette butt didn’t occur ……….
If they failed to undertake a H&S assessment or obtain from SGN the gas main map and supervise the build, their insurance company may well dismiss their claim as negligence ………
And they’ll see all that investor profit from their price gouging £8 a pint ; £12.50 a rough glass of wine, go up in smoke ! (excuse the pun)
O well this is why traders have public liability insurance
…. humm, and the potential threat to life, had it exploded (thank god it didn’t) and the damage to land locking residents out of their use for further weeks or months?? But hey ho, so long as the contrctors are not out of pocket via public liability insurance?
The way events are planned and managed in the city is a disgrace. We give away public land for 2-3x less than any other city, and then we allow a few private promotors (a little circle of connected companies) to make millions, while destroying our parks and beaches and expecting us to pick up the tab. These are public spaces, not an ATM.
It is time to professionalise the way we plan and manage events. We need an events team that knows what they are doing.
“When event organisers are using our open spaces, we encourage them to fully scan the area where any temporary structures will be placed and complete a land search for utilities services to avoid this type of unfortunate accident.”
This does seem to be the wrong way about it.
Surely the council can supply accurate plans of the location(s) of all the utilities on the site whether it be gas, water, electricity, drainage etc
It’s the councils land so they should have the plans – especially it’s only a couple of years ago the whole area was dug up to put them all in!
Certainly a lesson they could learn.